damnlines.comdamnlines.comA West Village all-day bistro whose brunch wait is invoked by local critics as shorthand for how punishing a Manhattan line can get.
No camera at Joseph Leonard yet — these are the closest live lines we cover.
damnlines hasn't pointed a lens at Joseph Leonard yet. The most-wanted lines get a camera first.
The Infatuation's review of nearby Cafe Cluny holds Joseph Leonard up as the neighborhood's benchmark bad wait, telling readers to "avoid the two hour wait at Joseph Leonard" and go to Cluny instead — using the two-hour figure as shorthand for how bad West Village brunch queues can get rather than a guaranteed number for any given visit.
The restaurant's own site says the dining room and its sidewalk tables are largely held for walk-ins, stating that "as many as 75% of our guests dine without a reservation." When the room fills, staff take a name and phone number and estimate the wait rather than commit to a fixed time, per the same source.
For guests who want a table locked in, the site says reservations are released through OpenTable at 11am, exactly two weeks before the date, with tables capped at six guests and a $35-per-person fee for cancellations made inside 24 hours (waived for inclement weather).
Patterns as reported by press and regulars — not measured by damnlines.
Reservations: Reservations released via OpenTable at 11am, two weeks to the day in advance, per the restaurant's site. Roughly 75% of guests dine as walk-ins; a $35/person fee applies for cancellations within 24 hours (waived for bad weather).
Walk-ins: Walk-ins are common and much of the seating, including sidewalk tables, is held for them; when full, staff take a name and phone number and estimate the wait, per the restaurant's site.
Service runs breakfast through late-night dinner daily, with brunch stretching into mid-afternoon on weekends; see the restaurant's site for the current day-by-day schedule.
The Infatuation has cited a two-hour wait at Joseph Leonard as a benchmark for how bad West Village brunch waits can get, telling readers elsewhere to avoid it in favor of nearby Cafe Cluny. The restaurant's own site doesn't publish a wait figure — when the room fills, staff take a name and phone number and estimate the wait instead.
Yes — reservations are booked through OpenTable and released at 11am, two weeks to the day before the date, per the restaurant's site. The same source adds that as many as 75% of guests dine without a reservation, since a lot of the seating, including sidewalk tables, is held for walk-ins.
Yes — the restaurant's site says most guests (as much as 75%) don't have a reservation, and staff will take a name and estimate the wait when a table isn't immediately available.
Yes, per the restaurant's site: cancellations more than 24 hours out are penalty-free, but canceling or no-showing within 24 hours triggers a $35-per-person fee, which is waived for inclement weather.
Sources: The Infatuation · Joseph Leonard (official site)